New Shoreham Town Council Meeting

Town Hall, 16 Old Town Road, Block Island

Wednesday, December 3, 2025

3:00 PM

 

Present: First Warden Keith Stover, Second Warden Nancy Dodge, Town Council members William McCombe, Tristan Payne and Margaret O’Neill.  Also present were Town Manager Amy Land, and via Zoom, Town Solicitor James Callaghan.  Town Clerk/Director of Administration Millicent Highet was present for the recording of minutes.  

 

First Warden Stover called the meeting to order at 3:02 p.m.

 

1.   Meet with the Lobbyists from Mayfourth to discussion the 2026 legislative agenda.  Items may include: non-owner-occupied property tax, deer mitigation, DOT roads and maintenance building, car rentals, courtesy vehicles, etc.

Lobbyists Rick McCauliffe and Jeff Taylor of the Mayfourth Group were present.  Mr. Stover thanked the Lobbyists for their work in the last legislative session.

 

Jeff Taylor reviewed the 2025 legislative session regarding bills for New Shoreham that were approved:

·         The property tax classification enabling act which allows the Town to implement a nonowner occupied tax classification.

·         The Water District bill, limiting the obligation to provide water to those in the district only.

·         The School Bond authorization of $10,500,000 for building renovations.

·         The increase of the landing fee by $0.50 to $1.00.

 

Rick McCauliffe and Jeff Taylor addressed the following:

·         Non-owner-occupied property tax was approved in 2025.  The major concern regarding the law is that it authorizes the state to collect property taxes which has historically been under the sole jurisdiction of municipalities.  Mr. McCombe stated that the precedent is alarming.  Ms. O’Neill explained that it encompasses 70% of our homes and none of the tax collected is returning to New Shoreham. 

·         Mr. McCauliffe explained that the state is facing a large deficit due to cuts at the federal level and the state will be responsible for a larger portion of Medicaid, amounting to four billion in the next 10 years.  Funding for the Affordable Care Act may also be on the chopping block.

·         Mr. Taylor reported that there is $50 billion worth of grants for rural health available for all 50 states focusing on programs.  New Shoreham has the only federally designated rural health center in Rhode Island.  Block Island Health Services has submitted a grant application amounting to $7.2 million in initiatives.

·         Mr. McCauliffe stated whole-house short-term rentals are now subject to the 7% hotel tax.

·         The hotel tax was increased from 1% to 2%, with the additional 1% also returning to the municipalities.

 

The Town Council raised the following items to include the 2026 legislative agenda:

·         Tick-borne illness is a public health issue on Block Island.  The Town wants to move beyond deer herd management.  Mr. Stover noted that addressing tick/deer eradication will include practices not approved by the DEM.  Ms. Dodge suggested exempting the Town from state deer management.  She further explained that tick-borne disease will potentially have an impact on tourism and therefore an impact on the state tax revenue.

·         The Town may need help extracting funding from the Department of Transportation for the much-needed state road maintenance and replacement of the highways garage.  Mr. McAuliffe and Mr. Taylor are meeting with the Governor to address this sole issue.

·         Discussion ensued regarding regulation of electric bicycles.  The lobbyists will inform the Council if any bills regarding such are introduced.

·         Ms. O’Neill suggested supporting on-line drivers’ education.

 

Ms. Dodge noted that statewide affordable housing laws can have a detrimental effect on the Town.  The Town already has progressive Zoning laws encouraging affordable housing and the statewide blanket legislation often does not fit for Block Island.  The lobbyists will keep an eye on the upcoming laws and legal challenges.

 

It was noted that the Council does not yet have enough information to consider seeking legislation regarding courtesy shuttles, car rentals, etc.

 

Mr. McCauliffe and Mr. Taylor stated that they appreciate the working relationship between the Town Manager, Town Council and themselves. 

 

2.   Discuss the implementing paid parking in certain locations: Old Harbor, New Harbor, Town Beach, etc.

Mr. Stover questioned what the potential revenue impact parking fees may generate.  Town Manager Land noted that she and the Finance Director are working on the potential revenue estimates.

 

Ms. Dodge stated she was not in favor of paid parking, as it seems diabolical when the Town does not have enough parking, to charge for parking.  She further noted that the limited two-hour parking downtown promotes parking spot turnover.

 

Ms. Land explained that a paid parking program is much different from an enforcement policy.  She noted that when trying to move people in and out of parking spaces, generally the incentive or disincentive for people to pay for that parking helps.  She further noted paid parking generates a revenue stream that is not entirely reliant on ticketing, so it is not a penalize system, but a proactive system.  Lastly, she noted that the Town does not want to rely on enforcement to generate revenue. 

 

Ms. Dodge made a motion to adjourn at 4:25 p.m.  The motion was seconded by Mr. McCombe and carried.

                        Ayes: 5 (Stover, Dodge, O’Neill, McCombe, Payne)       Nays: 0

 

 

Millicent Highet, MMC

Town Clerk                                        

 

Date Approved: 12/17/2025